Railway car type container



' Aug. 4, 1936. c. H. WILLIAMSON I 42,049,989

V RAILWAY CAR TYPE CON'l-AINER Filed July 19, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 QInno 'Ilka N i do l. w1 l :S Nfl' 0cuneo-eeuuaoaecooooeoveavoaaaooovoanaaaoovaaouaoaaaooqaau Q W N MILF IUFM |IIO- Il' |O Ir'o Aug. 4,1936. c. H. WILLIAMSON RAILWAY CAR TYPE CONTAINER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJul 19 1952 n N. .E

Aug., 4, 19316. c. H. WILLIAMSON RAILWAY CAR TYPE CONTAINER Filed July19, 1932 '4 Sheets-Sheet KJ U' KJ LJ k/ K.) 114 Aug. 4, 1936. c. H.WILUAMSON RAILWAY CAR TYPE CONTAINER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 19,1952 Jil H71. la@ ,day

Patented Aug. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES RAILWAY CAR TYPE CONTAINER ClarenceH. Williamson, Cleveland, Ohio. assignor to The Youngstown Steel DoorC'ompany, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohiol Application July 19,1932, Serial No. 623,430

11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in railway car type containers.Containers of the vrailway car type, as well known, are subject toextremely hard service, 5,; particularly in loading and unloading on thetrucks, cars, boats, etc., and which usually necessitates handling bycranes. In Vcrane handling, it is a common occurrence for the containersto be laid down in tilted positions on one corner or an edge with moreor less of a jar, thus imposing severe stresses, tending to buckle,indent or weave the container. To guard against such damage to thecontainers, the containers must be made extremely rigid and, heretofore,to obn tain the necessary rigidity, it has been the general practice toform the framework of the superstructure of the usual mechandisecontainer of relatively heavy rolled sections for the corner and doorposts, side and end plates and several carlines for lthe roof, thelatter primarily to prevent collapse orV crushing whenthe container islifted. The roofs have generally consisted of plain sheet rnetal panelsriveted to the plates and carlines and the walls likewise have generallyconsisted of plain sheet metal panels, but with reinforcing sectionsriveted to the outside thereof. With such prior known constructions,twov se rious disadvantages result. For a container of given capacity,desired strength and rigidity, the weight is extremely high, thusinvolving not only excessive initial cost for the material buturlnecessary expense in the transportation of the unproductive weight.The second disadvantage arises because of the excessive number of rivetsrequired to unite the many frame sections and sheets which not onlyincreases the cost of fabrication and assembling but increases thedangers from corrosion and also damage to certain classes of merchandiseco-ming in contact with the rivet heads on the interior of thecontainer.

One object of this invention is .to provide a container of `the railwaycar type which, for a given capacity, strength and. rigidity, will be ofless weight; comprised of fewer parts; and re- 45 quire a radically lessnumber of rivets than heretofore for containers of similar capacity,strength and rigidity, whereby the costs of material, fabricating,transporting and maintenance are greatly reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container of thecharacter indicated, wherein the usual rolled section posts and wallreinforcements are entirely eliminated and the necessary strength andrigidity obtained by integrally incorporating post and rigidifyingformations in the wall and roof sheets to thereby minimize the cost offabricating, assembling and the number of rivets. Y Y

Another object of the invention is to provide a container of thecharacter indicated such that, for a given weight of material employed,the metal is distributed in the most advantageous manner andparticularly by increasing the thickness of the wall and roof sheets tothereby greatly increase the life thereof as against the effects ofcorrosion.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a container of the typeindicated, a structure wherein the usual sets of corner post, door postand intervening side sheet are consolidated into Y a single formed sheetand in such manner that inwardly projecting flanges or other projectionsalong the door edges are eliminated to thereby not only decrease thecosts as to this particular part of the container, increase the wallstrength as against shifting lading, but also minimize danger of damageto lading Within the container.

Another object of the invention is to improve those portions of thecontainer structure which dene the usual door openings in such mannerthat the lower edges of the doors are protected against injury thatmight otherwise result from the containers being dropped on the dooredges and also. afford a better weather protection and seal for the topedges of the doors and door post formations.

Other objects of the invention are to provid a rigidied roof structureconsisting of minimum number of parts; to provide a more rigidunderframe or base for `the container and, in general,v to simplify theconstruction throughout.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from thedescription and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an endelevational view of a container having the improvements incorporatedtherein. Figure 2 is a broken side elevational view of the containershown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a broken vertical sectional viewcorresponding to the line 3 3 of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a brokenhorizontal sectional view, corresponding to the line 4-4 of Figure 3.Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view corresponding to theline 5-5 of Figure 2. Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional viewcorresponding to the line 6-6 of Figure 2. Figure 7 is a verticalsectional view corresponding to the line 1-1 of Figure 2, parts beingbroken away to accommodate the figure on the sheet. Figures 8, 9, 10,and 11 are detailed,

horizontal sectional views corresponding to the lines 8 8, 9 9, |0-|0,and l, respectively, all on Figure 2. And Figure l2 is a top plan viewof part of the roof.

In said drawings, the container is shown as having an underframedesignated generally by the reference character A; end walls B; sidewalls C; a roof D; and two sets of doors, one set in each side wall, thedoors shown being two in ynumber and each of the pivoted double leaftype of which two and part of a third only are shown designatedgenerally by the reference characters E, F, and G. Other featurespertaining to the locking and latching devices and sealing arrangementsfor the doors will be referred to in detail hereinafter.

The underframe A, referring vmore particularly to Figures 1, 3, and 7,as shown, comprises two channel end sills 29 with the flanges thereoffacing inwardly; two channel side sills 2|with their flanges also facinginwardly; and a series of intermediate sills V224 extending from endsill to end sill. The side and end sills are rigidly united at the fourcorners of the underframe by gusset plates 23. Each of the intermediatesills 22 is of more or less U-cross section or bath tub section with abottom web 2li and upper out-turned flanges 25-25 and of such over-al1height that the same are adapted to be extended between the upper andlower flanges of the end sills and riveted to both of said flangesthrough the bottom section 24 and flanges 25 ofthe intermediate sill,the flanges 25 being offset the thickness of the upper flange of thechannel end sill 25 where entered under the latter so that the uppersurfaces of the intermediate, end and side sill flanges are all inthesame plane to provide for securing of the floor planking 2B and 2lthereto. With this construction, a very rigid underframe is providedandin which the intermediate sills have their ends shrouded and protectedby the end sills. Each of the side sills 2|, intermediate its ends andfor a distance corresponding, to the width of the door opening, isinwardly offset as indicated at |23 for the purpose hereinafterdescribed, the inwardly offset portion |23 being united to the endportions of the side sill by inclined portions 223 conforming to thedoor post formation hereinafter described.

Each end wall of the container, particular reference being hadto Figures1, 3, and 4, is

shown comprised of two sheet metal panels 28-28 united centrally of theend wall at their meeting edges by a post structure hereinafterdescribed. Each of the sheet metal panels 28 is riveted at its loweredge to the corresponding end sill, as indicated at 29; along its outervertical edge to the corresponding corner post, as indicated at 30; and`along its top edge to the end plate 3|y and roof Y sheet by the line ofrivets indicated at 32. To

provide the necessary strength and rigidity to resist buckling, weavingand collapse without the necessity of employing separately appliedreinforcing. bars, each panel 28 is provided with a plurality ofpreferably vertically extending outwardly disposedcorrugations 33rounded at their ends so as to avoid sharp corners and extendingapproximately from the floor line to the end plate.

before referred to which comprises. an inner vertically extending flatplate 34 and outer cor.- rugatedplate35, the latter extending down overthe end sill and riveted thereto, as indicated'at 36, and extending alsoupwardly so as to underlie the' roof "sheetwhereit'is'riveted theretoand The two adjacent vertical edges of theV A panels 28V are united bythe post structure hereinl purlin 54.

to the end plate, as indicated at 31. The post structure describedperforms an important function in that, when stresses are directed fromthe corners upwardly and inwardly toward the center of the end wallswhen the container is lifted by the corner hooks 38, said stresses aretransferred not only through the end panels 28 but also through the poststructure directly down to the underframe as will be apparent.

In the container shown, theY same is provided with doors on each sidethereof and it is deemed necessary to describe only the structure on oneside, it being understood that both sides will be of the sameconstruction. Referring more particularly to Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6,each side wall is comprised of two sheet metal panels, one at each sideof the door opening and extending therefrom tov the correspondingadjacent corner. Each of said panels 39 extends from the correspondingside sill to which it is riveted, as indicatedat 40, to thecorresponding side plate 4| to which it is also riveted, as indicated bythe series of rivets 42. Each panel 39 further is-provided withv anintegrally formed door post inwardly offset from the general plane ofthe panel, said post being formed with a flange section 43 extendingperpendicular to the wall, an inner narrow iat bottom 44 and anoutwardly inclined section 45 merging with the main section of thepanel. Along its other vertical edge, the panel 39 is provided with acorner post in the form of a right-angular flange 46, which overlaps andis secured to the adjacentV edge of the end sheet by said rivets 30.Preferably, an inner lapping plate 41 is also employed at said corsillhereinbefore referred to. With this construction of side wall, thecorner posts and door posts are integrally formed with the wallsheathing proper, thus eliminating a great many rivets heretoforethought necessary and allowing also of the thickness of the panel to bematerially increased over sheet metal side wall panelsl heretofore used,while at the same time allowing of a decrease in weight of metal used inthis section of the container. Another advantageous feature, apparentfrom Figures 4 and 6, is that no sharp angles or corners are provided onthe interior surface of the car at the door post location,

thus minimizing possibility of injury to certain those in line with thelifting hooks 38, extend partially over the top flanges ofy the endplates 3|, thus providing for an extremely rigid connection to the endplates by theouter series of rivets yand the inner series of rivets 5|located between the corrugations. Along their outer edges; each of thepanels48 is riveted to the upper inwardly extended ange of thecorresponding side plates, as indicated at 52, itV being understood thatsaid side plate flange is sloped to accord with the pitch of the roof.Along their adjacent inner edges, the roof panels 48 are riveted to theupper out-turned flanges 53 of a single purlin 54 extending from endplate to end'plate Vand riveted at its ends thereto'. A cover plate 55is secured over the adjacent edges of the panels and to the By employingthe corrugated roof sheets or panels, the roofframe eliminates thenecessity of the usual carlinesand instead comprises merely the side andend plates and 'a single purlin as described, again reducing the number0f parts, the number of rivets which are particularly objectionable onthe roof because of the dangers from corrosion, and permitting of theuse of a heavier gauge sheet ymetal panel than heretofore, withoutincrease of weight or loss of strength.

Referring now to the door construction on each side of the container, itwill be understood that each double leaf door is of the sameconstruction except as to the meeting edges of the two outer leaves andthe description will be confined to the two leaves E and F, except as tothe differences at the meeting edges of the two leaves F and G.-

The inner door leaf E comprises an upper casting 56; a lower casting 5l,side angl-es 58 and 59 and a sheet metal panel 69 secured to thecastings and angles. Each of the castings 59 and 5l is provided at itsends with a series of hinge lugs 6I and 62, the hinge lugs 6l beingpivotally connected to links 63, which in turn are pivotally Connectedto hinge butts 64 seated within and fitted to the corresponding sidedoor post, as best illustrated in Figure 6. As will be understood, thelinks 63 are provided in orderto accommodate the outer door leaf F whenthe latter is folded over the leaf E and the two leaves swung backagainst the side wall.

The outer door leaf F is quite similar to the door E, except that theupper and lower castings 65 and 69 are provided with hinge lugs 6l atone end only for pivotal connection to the hinge 'lugs 62 of thecastings 56 and 5l and, at their other ends, the castings 65 and 66 arespecially formed to provide upper and lower guides 68 and 69 for thevertically moving latching bars 19 and ll, respectively. The outer endsof the castings 65 and 66 are further formed with outwardly inclinedsections 12 conforming and riveted to correspondingly inclined flange'i3 of the vertical angle and with overhanging weather sealing flanges14, as best shown in Figure 10. The corresponding adjacent end of thedoor G has its angle 15 and top and bottom castings l complementallyformed with inclined sections 'Vl and 18, respectively, so that when thedoor leaf G has been moved to closed position and the leaf F isthereafter moved to closed position, the leaf F will overlie and retainthe leaf Gr in position. In each of the door joints, a weather seal isprovided preferably in the form of a rubber strip i9 extendinglengthwise of and secured to the corresponding door angle, each of saidstrips 'l9having loop edge formations -80 providing a double line ofseal between each adjacent pair of door edges or door edge and doorpost, as clearly shown in Figure 9. For a more detailed description ofthe door structures proper insofar as hereinabove described, referencemay be had to my prior pending application, Serial No. 602,146, filedMarch 31, 1932.

T0 provide a weather seal along the top edges of the doors, thefollowing construction is employed, reference being had to Figures 2 and7. The side plate lll, which has a depending flange extending in thesame plane Yfrom corner to corner, is provided with an integraloutwardly and up-turned lip or gutter 8i for catching and draining offmoisture, said lip extending a short distance beyond each side post, asshown in Figure 2. Secured to the inner face of the side plate andextending the full width of the door opening and abuttingthe doorvpost,is a sealing or hood strip 82, having an inwardly koffset dependingflange 83, which is overlapped by upstanding flanges 84 formed on thetop castings of the door leaves, said flanges 84 each carrying a rubbersealing strip 85 adapted to make weather-tight contact with the ange 83when the doors are in closed position and as shown in Figure-7.

Also secured to the inner face of the side plate 4l and of a lengthcorresponding substantially to that of the lip 3l, is a lintel or headerplate 86 of approximately Z-cross section, the upper flange 8l beingdirectly riveted to the side plate 4I, the web 88 extending horizontallyover the tops of.

vthe doors and also over the tops of the door post formationaand theother wider flange 89 depending downwardly and inwardly offset from theside plate. Said flange 89 is conformed, at each end of the header, tothe door post formations, as indicated at 89 in Figure 5, so that thereis thus provided a weather-tight closure or shroud o for the upper endsof the door post formations,

preventing admission of rain or other foreign matter to the interior ofthe container.

In line with the joints between each pair of door leaves, of which onlyone is shown in connection with the door leaves E and F, the header l 86has secured thereto on the outer side of the depending flange 89, alatch element 99 having an outwardly projecting ange 9| and a ange 92 atright angles thereto.

The flange 92 provides an inwardly facing shoulder for cooperativeengagement with a sector shaped upwardly projecting lug 93, formedintegral with the top casting 69 of the outer door leaf F so that, whenthe leaf F is in closed position as best shown'in Figthe two doubledoors, that is, centrally of the door opening. Said element 94 may be,in'order toreduce costs, identical with the latching element 99 but isapplied differently, that is, by turning it so that the flange 95thereof extends downwardly and behind which is adapted to engage theupper end of. the latching bar 10, as best shown in Figure 7.

To latch the doors at their bottom edges, each of the lower castings 66and 16 of the respective outer door leaves is preferably formed with aninwardly extended hook shaped lug 96 adapted to venter correspondingslots in the threshold plate 91 and hook behind the latter, as theleaves F and G are swung to closed position. To further similar form andis riveted to its corresponding.

door angle 53 or 59 on the outer side of the door and has a lug |96projecting through an opening in the corresponding'angle to which it issecured and adapted to enter an alined opening IDI of G the adjacentdoor leaf angle or door post flange, as the case may be, when the doorsare swung Vto closedpo'sition, the lug being preferably tapered at itsouter end to facilitate entrance, as clearly shown in Figure l1. Byemploying the lug castings 98 and 99, which are located midway of theheightV of the doors, the latter are interlocked and braced so as toeffectively combine each adjacent pair of. door angles or door angle anddoor post in `resisting any outward pressure that may beapplied toeither `door leaf.

.The latching bars l0 and I, as shown,-are pivotally vconnected attheiradjacent ends to a plate r|02 rotatably mounted in a suitablehousing |03 secured to the door leaf F, said plate havingpivotally'connected thereto an operating hasp |04, adapted to take overa staple |05 carried by another plate |06 secured to the adjacent doorleaf G. The hasp is held in its latched position by a `vertically movingpin |01, slidably mounted and secured to the plate |06, as will beunderstood.

To provide an effective weather seal for the lower edges of the doorsand also to protect the same against possible injury when the containeris dropped in a tilted position, a special form of threshold plate 91 isemployed. Said plate, which extends from door post to door post, has abottom vertical flange |08 riveted to the side sill 2|, an upwardly andoutwardly inclined striking or guard section |09, a horizontal section||0 positioned beneath the bottom edges of the door, a vertical sectionoverlying the edges of the floor planking, and a top flange ||2 ilushwith the wood Yoor. lAs will be evident, the outwardly projecting moreor less triangular formation comprised of the sections |09 and ||0 willprevent the bottom edges of. the doors from coming into contact with anyplatform or article thereon as the container is lowered and as thesloping section |09 may meet any such projection, it is evident that itwill glance offV therefrom. Incidentally, the horizontal section H0 isapertured as indicated at I3 to receive the lower latching bar as shownin Figure 7. To facilitate drainage and also to increase theeiectiveness of the weather seal along the bottom edges of the doors,the lower castings thereof are provided with outwardly and downwardlyturned lips ||4, as shown in Figure 7.

"From the preceding description, it will be seen that,'as compared withformer types of merchandise containers of the railway car type, thepresent invention eliminates many hundreds of rivets heretofore thoughtnecessary in connection with separately formed corner and side doorposts, Wall braces and carlines; the number of parts is very materiallyreduced; the thickness of the wall and lroof sheets may be made greaterthan heretofore for corresponding parts for a container of similarweight or, stated conversely, for a container of -desired strength andrigidity, the present invention permits of the use of a materiallylesser weight, all of which factors contribute to an appreciably lesserinitial cost and greater life. Further, the weight may be so distributedas to increase the thickness of those parts where it is mostadvantageous, that is, in the wall and roof sheets which not onlyincreases their strength but, because of the greater thickness,minimizes the corrosion effects and, as obvious, the lesser number ofrivets employed also decreases the possibility of corrosion effects.

Although the invention has been described with particularity as to whatis now considered the preferred embodiment, it will 'be understood thatthe'same is by way of descripti-on only and not by way of limitation,since it is evident that various changes and modicationsmay be madewithout -departing from the spirit of the invention. All Ysuch changesand modications are contemplated as come within the scope of the claimsappendedhereto.

I claim: Y .1. In a container of the character described,

vthe .combination with an .underframe; of sheet metal side and end wallssecured along their lower edges to said underframe; side and end platessecured along and to the upper edges of said walls; a purlin extendingbetween and secured to the end plates midway between the side plates;two sheet metal roof panels having their meeting edges secured to saidpurlin and the opposite side edges to the side plates, said panelshaving corrugations extending parallel to the purlin, some of saidcorrugations being 0f such length as to overlapV the end plates; andmeans securing the ends of said panels to the end plates comprising twolines of rivets, one line disposed beyond the ends of said ccrrugationsand the other line between the corrugations.

2. In a railway car type of merchandise container having a door openingin a side wall thereof, the combination with an underframe including aside sill inwardly offset intermediate its ends from the general planeof the side wall and for a distance correspon-ding to the width of thedoor opening; of sheet metal panels forming the vertical walls of thecontainer body; a door in the door opening; and means Vfor protectingthe lower edge of the door comprising a plate extending lengthwise ofand secured to said oifset portion of the side sill and positionedbeneath the door.

3. In a railway car type of merchandise container having a door openingin a side wall thereof, the combination with an underframe including aside sill inwardly offset intermediate its ends from the general planeof the side wall and for a distance corresponding to the width of thedoor opening; of sheet metal panels forming the vertical walls of thecontainer body; a door in the door opening; and a threshold plateextending lengthwise of and secured to said offset portion of the sidesill, said threshold plate having an outwardly projecting ledgepositioned beneath the door, said ledge having an outwardly and upwardlysloping underside and a horizontal top side.

4. In a container -of the character described having a door opening in aside wall thereof', means defining said door opening comprising doorposts, a bottom sill, a side plate, and a door header, the bottom sillfor a distance corresponding to the width of the-door opening, beingdisposed inwardly of the plane of the side wall, said header being ofangular .formation and secured to the inner face of the side plate andoverlying the tops of the door posts.

5. In a container of the character described having a door opening in aside wall thereof, means dening said door opening comprising a bottomsill, door posts, a side plate and a door header, said door header beingof substantially Z-cross section and having its outer flange extendingvertically upward and secured to the inner face of the side plate, theweb of the header overlying and forming a shroud for the tops of thedoor posts, said web being also located above the lower edge of the sideplate.

6. A container of the character described having a door opening dened bya bottom sill, door posts, side plate and door header secured to theside plate the posts and -side sill between' the posts being inwardlyoffset from the plane of the side wall; a door Vfor said openingpivotally mounted to swing about a vertical axis adjacent one-of thedoor posts, said door comprising .two

leaves pivotally connected; and means for latching the outer door leafadjacent its pivotal connection with the inner leaf, said meanscomprising an angular element secured to the header and a lug carried bysaid outer leaf arranged for shouldered engagement with said elementwhen the outer leaf is in close-d position.

7. In a container of the railway car type, the combination with anunderframe including a side sill; of a superstructure mounted on theunderframe and having a side wall with a door opening therein, the sidewall including a sheet metal panel having an integral door postformation along one vertical edge thereof, said door post formationbeing inwardly offset from the general plane of the panel, said sidesill being inwardly offset in line and in conformity to the contour ofthe post formation, the lower edge of the panel including that of thepost formation being secured to and along the sill.

8. In a container of the railway car type, the combination with anunderframe; of a superstructure mounted on the underframe and having aside wall with a door opening, said side wall including two sheet metalwall panels, one at each side of the door opening, a top longitudinallyeX- tending plate, and a door header, each panel having an integral doorpost formation along the inner vertical edge thereof, each said postformation being inwardly offset from the general plane of the panels,said header at each end having portions thereof conformed and secured tothe upper ends of the post formations, the upper edges of the panelsincluding the post formations thereof, being united to the top plate andheader.

9. As an article of manufacture, a sheet metal wall panel for the sideof a container of the railway car type, said panel comprising a mainwallforming panel portion proper, an integral ange along one verticaledge thereof adapted to constitute with the main portion a corner post,the panel being formed along the opposite vertical edge of the mainportion with an initially inwardly inclined section merging with a flatsection and thence extended outwardly with a vertical flange section,said sections constituting a post formation inwardly offset from thegeneral plane of said main portion of the panel.

10. A container of the character described having a door opening in aside wall thereof, and including door posts, a door header and thresholdplate, said door header having a horizontally extending section and avertically depending flange from the inner edge of said horizontalsection; a door for said opening pivotally mounted to swing about avertical axis adjacent one of the door posts, said door, when in closedposition, being disposed beneath said horizontal section of the doorheader; and means for latching the free edge of the door in closedposition, said means including manually operable vertically moving latchbars on the door and a bracket secured to the outer face of saiddepending flange of the door header, said bracket having an inwardlyfacing shoulder arranged to cooperate with the upper of said latchingbars when the latter is moved to its upper latching position, saidthreshold plate being apertured to receive the lower of the latchingbars when the latter is moved downwardly.

11. In a container of the character described having a door opening in aside wall thereof, means defining said door opening comprising a bottomsill, door posts and a side plate, a door header, said door header beingsecured to the inner face of the side plate and having a horizontallyinwardly extending section overlying the tops of the door posts and aninner depending flange, the end portions of said header having aconfiguration like that at the upper endsof said posts, said endportions of said header being secured to and forming a shroud for theupper ends of said posts.

CLARENCE H. WILLIAMSON.

